By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – Continuing their hot start to the season, the Otto-Eldred softball team rolled over Elk County Catholic 11-1 in just six innings as they improved to 7-1.
Heading into the New York-hosted matchup, the Lady Terrors had been on a hot streak. To open the season, O-E tallied two wins by a combined score of 46-0 before suffering a narrow loss to defending Allegheny Mountain League champions Norther Potter 4-3. Since that April 4 defeat, the Lady Terrors have responded with four consecutive wins, all of which were decided by mercy rule.
“We’ve just really had some good nights at bat. We’ve been hitting strong. I’d say one through five, we’ve had some nice batting,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Kristina Francis, “and we’ve been pitching well. Baylee (Francis) and Rayel (Hakes) have pitched some good games and the defense behind her has made the plays when needed to.”
While their bats may be working overtime this early into the season, their defense is just as potent, something the Lady Crusaders found out sooner rather than later. Through the first two innings, O-E dispatched ECC with six quick outs that came by way of fluid fielding and their lefty ace Hakes. In the meantime, the Lady Terrors wasted no time getting on the scoreboard.
Although they would tally their first run in the first frame – Ayla Van Scoter reached on a walk, stole second and then rounded home plate on a Jahden Smith single and subsequent ECC overthrow – O-E would deal their biggest blow in the second, albeit, off consecutive Lady Crusaders mistakes.
The Lady Terrors’ first three lead off batters loaded the bases on consecutive walks before Van Scoter would step up again. Drilling a single past ECC’s shortstop, Van Scoter would drive in the first RBI of the day. With the bases still loaded, the Lady Crusaders would give up back-to-back runs off walks followed by a score on a wild pitch. After picking up two quick outs on a strikeout and pop fly, Hakes would drive two more runners around home plate with a double. After two quick frames, the Lady Terrors sat atop a 7-0 lead.
Ayla Van Scoter crosses home plate during the Lady Terrors blowout win over ECC. Van Scoter would finish with three runs in total and one RBI during a 1-for-1 day at the plate. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“We didn’t go swinging at things that weren’t there for us. I’d like to see us baserun a little bit better,” said Francis. “I thought we got caught on our baserunning too much but that’s the situation where you’ve been in the gym all week and you don’t get to practice.”
Heading into the top of the third, Hakes would continue to carry the torch all by herself as she stunted the Lady Crusaders with three straight Ks.
“She probably pitched five to eight games last year as a backup to Kate Rhinehart so she’s really stepped in as the starting pitcher. She’s only a sophomore so she’s got room to grow but she’s doing a nice job for us,” said Kristina Francis. “She’s really consistent. She’s hitting her spots and forcing them to put it in play. That’s the key for her.”
Watching as the Lady Terrors once again added to their lead in the bottom of the third – Smith scored during a pickle between second and third – ECC’s bats would finally start clicking in the fourth.
Jahden Smith scrambles during a pickle in the Lady Terrors’ win over Elk County Catholic. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
With one out, Gina Geci would kick things off with a deep shot into left field that granted her a visit to third base. Then, Bailey Thorwart would bring her home with a single. However, that would be the end of the Lady Crusaders’ surge, suffering two outs in the next three batters.
From there, the Lady Terrors tacked on one more run in both the fourth and fifth, scoring on a steal and wild pitch respectively. Even though ECC was finding contact in the batters’ box, their efforts fell short and they stayed scoreless. Entering the bottom of the sixth, O-E sat just one run away from a premature conclusion and it wouldn’t take long for them to get there.
Leading off was Tori Bickford, who reached first base on a walk before making it to second on a wild pitch. Holly McDivitt would wrap things up, smacking a single through the infield to give Bickford enough time to score the game-sealing run.
Along with her 11 strikeouts in the circle, Hakes ended 1-for-4 at the plate with two RBIS while Van Scoter and Smith both went a perfect 1-for-1 and combined for five runs and two RBIs.
The Lady Terrors will now enjoy a four day reprieve before taking another stab at the AML-leading NoPo Panthers on Tuesday, April 22, a game they most certainly have circled on their calendars.
“I think that we have confidence in our batting now. I think we were a little unsure of ourselves the first time (we played NoPo) with it being the third game of the season,” said Francis. “I think we know that we can hit. Pitching-wise, I think that we’re strong. We just have to work on our defense and our baserunning as we move towards Tuesday.”
AT ALLEGANY
R H E
Elk County Catholic 000 100 1 4 1
Otto-Eldred 161 111 11 6 0
ECC: Pistner (3 SO, 14 BB), Uhl (5) (0 SO, 2 BB) and A. Geci
O-E: Hakes (11 SO, 1 BB) and Drummond
